Sweet Sorrow (formally New Beginnings)
by StayGoldPB08
Summary: Anna Thomas comes to Tulsa, Oklahoma to bury the grandmother that she had never known and start her life over. Darry Curtis is coming back from New York City after trying to find a way to bring his brother, Sodapop, home from the Vietnam. They meet by chance but their destinies will forever be entwined. (First story of a series of 5).
1. Chapter 1

Hey guys, so I decided to revise the first chapter. I rewrote the entire airplane scene, sorry. It just felt it was lacking something. I'm trying to make things more true to the characters personalities, so any reviews or suggestions will help.

(I don't own the Outsiders or any of the characters, except my own.)

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Anna POV

"Gate 3A, flight for Will Rodgers Airport. New York to Oklahoma City is now boarding." The ridiculously cheery voice over the loud speaker made her jump.

She picked up her bag and looked around for a phone booth an saw a wall. She had to try to call again before she got into the air. She shook a little bit, that idea alone made her sweat. She fished around for a dime, before putting it in the coin slot and dialing zero.

"Yes, hello, operator?" She said holding the blue phone with a gloved hand, "I'm calling collect. Can you please connect me to," she pulled the paper out of her pocket, "St. Andrews Funeral Home 598 Mission Street, AT 3-5972? Thank you." She heard the dial tone and sighed, she wished the man would just pick up the damn phone. It wasn't like she had money spend; this plane ticket alone about put her in the poor house.

She tapped her finger nails on the glass separating the phone, waiting for him to pick up, but couldn't help but over hear the conversation next to her.

"No. No! You listen to me. I already talked to a lawyer here in New York and it was a waste of time. The jack-ass didn't give me the curiosity to talk to me face to face. I talked to the drafting board, nothing that they could do." He rubbed the back of his neck in frustration, "I even talked to Child Protective Services for Christ's sake and there's nothing I can do. Look, please, just don't tell Ponyboy about it okay?"

Her curiosity got the best of her and she leaned around the divider to take a look at him. He was very tall and wide in the shoulders. He had on a black suit, it was older and a little faded, but it looked very nice on his frame.

She couldn't see his face, but he felt her eyes on the back of his head and turned, giving her a hard glare. She turned back to her phone quickly, listening to the phone ringing on the other end.

"I know, I know," she heard him sigh, "I'm upset to. I'll call you when I land okay? No, don't worry about it. I have a ticket for the greyhound already; I might as well use it. I'll see you when I get home. Bye." He hung up the phone and let out a long sigh before he picked up his briefcase and walked away, but not before he shot her one last disapproving frown.

The phone was still ringing and she knew that he wouldn't answer, so she hung up and made her way to Gate 3A.

Darry POV

He checked his ticket before he sat down in seat 17E; just to make sure he had the right one. He closed his eyes and leaned his head against a seat. Everything was going wrong. He were supposed to bring his brother home, but he was still thousands of miles away, fighting in a war that wasn't even their fight. He had talked to hundreds of people: lawyers, activists, government administrators, even social workers. But they couldn't do anything.

He heard a rustle of fabric and opened his eyes to see the girl from the telephones was sitting next to him on the outside seat near the aisle. She offered him a small smile before settling in. Darry closed his eyes again, in disinterest, I might as well try to get some sleep. It's not like I'll be able to rest at home.

"Ma'am. You're in my seat."

Darry sighed and opened his eyes again to see a heavy set man with a bad comb over standing in the aisle.

"Oh, I'm sorry," She looked at the other seat nervously, "Would it be alright if I sat in this one? It's just I'm terrifie-."

The man cut her off, "It's my seat. I paid for that seat. Get out."

"Please, if you just let me ex-."

"Get out!" He shouted, other people turned and looked with disapproving glances.

She screwed up her face light she might cry, but stopped, composed herself and said, "Fine. If you would like this seat, you can have it."

I stood so she would be able to scoot by me without tripping.

She settled in her seat and carefully closed the curtain next to her.

He noticed she was looking around nervously glancing at the people sitting and picking at her finger nail polish.

She's afraid of flying, he thought. He felt a slight pang of sympathy for her, remembering his very first time in an ariplane.

"Leave the curtain open." The man commanded.

I turned my head to him in disbelief, had he no empathy?

She took a deep breath, "Excuse me?"

He leaned towards her, invading my personal space, "Leave. The curtain. Open."

I was about to say something when she said, "You want the curtain open, you sit in this seat. Because if I remember correctly," She put a finger up to her lip like she was thinking, "I paid for this seat."

_Bravo! _

"You're just a little bitch aren't you?" He said loudly. A woman with a child in the back shushed him, giving him a nasty look for the bad word.

"Well, you are just a terrible person. So, I'm not sure which is worse. A man who has no manners, sense of compassion, **or** social conduct," She raised her hands like a scale, "or a woman who's a bitch," she raised one hand higher than the other, "I'm guessing it's the former."

The man closed his mouth and looked ahead, burning holes into the back of the seat in front of him.

He couldn't help but smile and He shook his head.

He stuck out my hand, "Hi, my name is Darry Curtis."

She shook it, "Anna Thomas."

She was pretty, petite, but not super thin. She had brown hair pulled up into a bun on the back of her head and she was dressed simply in a plain brown dress, kitten heals and a white knit jacket.

They waited for all the other passengers to get settled and then the stewardess over the loud speaker said, "Welcome to flight 603 American Airlines New York to Oklahoma." She then went over the safety regulations and how to buckle the seats. He noticed the girl next to him began to fidget when she started talking about emergency landing procedures.

"Thank you and please enjoy your flight."

But when the plane's engines started, her eyes snapped shut and she gripped the arm rests like they were the only thing that mattered in this world.

The plane taxied down the runway and as it began to pick up speed, he noticed she held her breath and it wasn't till they were in the air that she slowly let it out.

She opened up her eyes and rested them on Darry, "So, why are you going to Tulsa?"

"I live their. You?"

"I'm moving their. My grandmother recently died so I'm going to finish up her affairs. And sense I'm the only surviving relative, she left me her house." She stated this so simply, it made him feel unnerved.

"Oh, well, I'm sorry for your loss."

She gave him a small smile, "Thank you, but I never actually knew her, unfortunately."

"Really?"

Anna nodded, "You see, my grandmother sent my mother to a school in New York during the Dust Bowl. When she graduated, she got a job working for the Red Cross in the Pacific, where she met and married my father," the flight attendant handed her a cup of coffee and flashed Darry a big, flirty smile, the rude man had fallen asleep and was snoring quietly. She took a sip of coffee before continuing with her story, "She went home and he was going to finish up his service tour, when his plane was shot down over Japan. So, my mother raised me on her own, and when I was 10, she remarried a grocer and they had my brother," her voice got quiet for a minute before she went on, "then, when I was 15, my mother came down with polio and she died not long after. My step-father went off the deep end and then my brother and I were put into foster care. He was adopted by a nice family in Up State and I stayed in the system till I graduated." She took another sip of coffee.

He just looked at her. Darry wasn't sure what to say. She had just share her life story with a complete stranger and seemed fine with it.

She looked over at him nervously and flushed in the face a little, "Look, I'm sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable. I-."

Darry cut her off, "I grew up on the East Side of Tulsa. It's a run down area and not an ideal place to raise a family, but somehow, my parent's managed, they loved us, and they cared about us," He swallowed his emotions so he could get it out, "three years ago, they died in a fatal car accident. I had to drop out of college to raise my two younger brothers so that they wouldn't go through foster care. And right now, my youngest brother is at home, practicing for a conference meet in a few weeks and my other brother," he had to take a deep breath so his voice wouldn't break, "is thousands of miles away, God knows where."

She put her hand on his arm and looked at him with empathy and understanding with big brown eyes, he felt his stomach fill with a feeling he hadn't felt in a long time, and it made him nervous, so he stiffened the slightest bit.

She quickly removed her hand and cleared her throat, "So, what were you doing in New York?" She pulled out her purse and started to root through it.

"I was trying to talk to someone about bringing my brother home. I mean, he's tough kid and all, you had to be where we lived," Darry sighed, "But not that tough."

She nodded, "I know what you mean. My brother, Scott, wants to drop out of college to serve."

"What? Why would he want to do something like that?"

Anna sighed, "He feels guilty that all his friends are fighting over seas and he's here. I told him that he could help them in other ways," she shrugged her shoulders, "But that's what he wants to do. So he said he's going to finish out his semester and enlist." He could see the angst in her eyes, how much she wanted him to stay here and be safe.

It reminded him of something Sodapop had said, _"Dar, I want to be useful. You know? I just don't want to sit around here doin' nothin'. Besides they see 'No High School Diploma' and immediately put me down as 1-A. It don't matter to them. 'Sides, Steve just got his letter. It's not like I'll be alone, ya' know?"_

"What is he studying?" Darry asked, hoping to take her mind off of it.

"Psychology," she smiled, "His adopting father is a Psychologist, so I had the feeling he might have helped him."

"And what do you do?" Darry waved at a flight attendant for a cup of coffee with which she brought back with a wink. He frowned deeply.

"I'm an accountant," She said.

He was pretty sure his eyebrows fell off his forehead, "An accountant? Really?"

She nodded, "Yep, business accounting actually. After I graduated high school, I got a scholarship that some guy gives out for promising orphans. And what about you?"

His face hardened a bit, _Here we go. As soon as I tell her what I do, she's out of here like a bat out of hell,_ "I'm a roofer and I work construction."

"Sounds like fun," God, her smile could like up all of New York and then some, "so you're like a house doctor?"

He shrugged, "I guess."

She leaned back, "Maybe when I get to Tulsa, I'll hire you to help me with the house. The lawyer said my grandmother hadn't lived in sense the 40's."

"I'd like that."

They spoke the entire rest of the flight and the whole ride on the bus home about politics (she was undecided), music (she was an Elvis fan, liked Billy Joel and someone else I hadn't heard of yet, Johnny Cash?), cars. Surprisingly, she knew quite a bit. He offered her a ride to where she needed to be, but she said she had the address and would walk.

"Be sure to be careful though." He warned, "I know you're from New York and all, but people around here can be just as dangerous."

"I will." She turned to walk away but stopped before saying, "How about we go out for dinner tomorrow. I'll give you a call tonight and we can work out the details."

"Sounds good." He waved and smiled as she walked away.

Just as she was leaving, he saw Ponyboy pull up in the pickup truck.

"Hey."

Darry gave him a sigh, "Hey."

"How did things go?"

He was quiet as he put his suitcase in the back of the truck and hopped into the passenger side, "Not as well as we would have liked."

"But can they bring him home?" Darry turned to his little brother, saw all of the hope in his eyes, and he felt his heart break.

He shook his head, "No. He was a healthy 18 year old and that's all that they care about. They assured me that the Army would take care of him. Besides, they're not even sure where he is, so they would have no possible way to get him if he could come home."

Ponyboy sat silent as he drove, but when they made the turn for their street, he asked, "So how was your flight?"

"It was alright. I met a girl."

"Really?" He gave Darry a look of surprise.

"Yeah, she's here to take care of her grandmother's funeral preparations. We're going to have dinner tomorrow night." He leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes.

"Wow."

He peaked one eye open, "Wow what?"

Ponyboy shrugged, "I just meant that it's been a while sense you've been on a date."

He closed his eye again, "Yeah, I guess."

"Well?"

"Well what?"

"Well, what's she like?"

"She's great. She's smart, funny, kind, pretty."

"Is that all?"

_Ponyboy, I'm too tired to do this_, but He opened his eyes, "What?"

"Nothing, you just gave such a general description."

"Ponyboy, I'm tired. I didn't sleep on the flight and I didn't sleep on the bus. Can we just have some quiet please?"

"Fine." Ponyboy pulled into the drive way and turned the car off.

Darry was headed towards the house when Ponyboy stopped him, "Thanks for trying anyways."

He blink and pulled his brother into a one arm hug, "I'd do it again in a heartbeat little buddy."

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Hey guys! Please, please, please review! What you guys think and your feedback is important to me. :)


	2. Chapter 2

Hey guys! How do you like it so far? Please review, I really value your opinions! :)

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Anna POV

She stopped at a little motel called "Good Nite" and put away her suit case before she left again and headed for St. Andrews Funeral Home. It was a small brick building that looked like it must have once been a house. It was in a nice part of town, just outside the downtown. She rang the doorbell and waited.

A little old man with white hair answered the door, "Hello?"

Anna stuck out her hand, "Hi, I'm Anna Thomas. I'm here about my grandmother, Sarah Parker?"

"Oh, yes. Please, do come in." He opened the door wider, allowing her to step through.

She wrinkled her nose, it smelled strongly of formaldehyde and cigarette smoke.

"This way. We have her in the first viewing room." He pointed to a room at the end of the hall.

She went inside and saw the casket on the other side of the room. She walked over and stood at the edge of it. She almost felt like crying, her grandmother was a beautiful woman. Anna wished she had met her.

"This is Eugene Bourke." She turned around suddenly to see the elderly gentleman gesturing to a short, balding man probably in his mid-forties.

"Oh, hello." She reached out and shook his hand, it was clammy.

"Hello Ms. Thomas. I'm so terribly sorry for your loss. Were you close?"

"Um, no," she blinked a little taken a back, "No, we had never met."

He turned his head to the side, "Oh, how unfortunate."

"Yes it was."

"Well, there are somethings concerning the will and finances that I would like to talk to you about." He took an uncomfortable step closer to her.

Anna frowned, "My lawyer in New York already discussed the will with me."

"There are somethings that we do need to…smooth over," His eyes roamed her, she pulled her jacket closer around her.

"Well, I'm staying at the "Good Nite Motel." We can talk about it over at the diner there. Is that fine by you?" She asked stiffening her spine.

"Yes, that sounds perfect."

"Fine then." She turned her back to him and her attention to the old man, "When will the viewing be?"

"Tuesday night and all day Wednesday. We have the eulogy scheduled for Wednesday night and the Funeral is scheduled for Thursday. We have notified to community and there should be a fair turn out from her church and Reverend Patrick said that he would speak during the eulogy."

Anna nodded, "Thank you. I'll be back Tuesday afternoon."

"Alright Ms. Thomas. Have a nice rest of the day."

She frowned a little, "Same to you."

He showed her to the door and bid her goodbye. She noticed the sun was setting over the houses and she checked her watch, about 5:30pm. She crossed the street and began making her way back to the motel.

Many of the stores that she passed were closing for the night, it being a Sunday and all, she was surprised that some of them were even open. When she got back to her room, she took off her jacket, dress, and shoes so she could go take a shower.

The water was taking a long time to heat up so she stood on the tile in the bathroom and caught a glance of herself in the mirror. She turned and sighed. She had put on a little weight recently, something like 10lbs. Maybe it was the stress from work or the fact she had been eating really cheap TV dinners lately. She felt like she had put it all on in her face though, _ugh_.

She was surprised that guy Darry had even agreed to have dinner with her. A smile broke across her face. He was an incredible guy, he cared about his family, had a steady job. And those eyes, icy steel blue. But there was something hidden behind them and she was curious. The shower was finally hot enough and she hopped in. The water soothed her tired muscles, but she shivered in spite of herself. She couldn't stop thinking about him. He seemed so serious and he looked maybe 26, 27 years old, but he had to be younger than that. She sighed, responsibilities change people.

She finished her shower and changed into a tan pair of pants and a blue, paisley button down shirt. She checked her watch and noticed it was 6:30. She slipped on her shoes and grabbed her purse, she needed to meet with Mr. Bourke about some arraignments. She was about to leave when a nock sounded at her door. She frowned and looked through the peep hole, it was Eugene Bourke himself.

"Hello, Mrs. Thomas." He shook her hand with his clammy one.

"Mr. Bourke."

He looked behind her at her room, "Would you mind if I came in for a minute?"

Anna crossed her arms, "I would rather you didn't. I was just headed out to the diner. We can talk there."

"Sounds fine to me."

She grabbed her purse and locked the door behind her as she was leaving.

He followed her though the parking lot, but when they were making their way past the dumpsters towards to diner, he grabbed her with surprising force and pulled her to the ground. She hit the side of her head on the asphalt and he then threw his body weight on her.

She let out a scream as he did so.

"Get off me!" She cried.

He smirked at her and tried to kiss her forcefully. She bit down on his lip, hard, drawing blood and a shout from him.

"Why you-!" He smacked her and tried to pull at her shirt buttons.

_Oh, God, I'm going to die!_ She thought to herself, she struggled against him pushing at his arms and kicked her legs wildly.

"Stop!" He kneed her in her side, causing her to cry out.

A light from one of the other rooms came on and a door opened, "Hey!" A man's voice shouted.

"Help me!" She screamed.

He hit her once more for good measure then jumped up and ran off into the dark.

She lay their dazed on the ground, weeping. Footsteps quickly approached and a figure knelt down beside her.

"You okay?" a man asked. He took her hand to help her sit up.

"No, *hiccup*" Anna cried. He helped her stand up on shaky feet.

A blond woman in a tight nightgown ran up, "Oh, dear, are you alright?"

Anna could only shake her head.

"Can we call anyone for you?" the man asked her.

_I don't have anyone. Well, maybe… _She pointed at her purse and gasped out between tears, "Please,*hiccup*, my purse, *hiccup*." The blond woman went and grabbed it, handing it to her.

Anna opened it and pulled her phone book out with shaking hands. She opened the book and pointed to a name.

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Darry's POV

He sat at the table and looked at the clock. It was 7 now and she still hadn't called. _Maybe she's changed her mind_. He sighed and picked at the food on the table.

Ponyboy frowned at Darry, "Are you alright? You haven't eaten anything."

He looked up, "I'm fine. Just not hungry."

Ponyboy looked down at the table and picked at the corner of it where the paint was chipping, "Dar, I'm upset about Soda being gone to you know."

He looked at his kid brother, "Yeah, I know."

Darry was about to add something else when the phone rang, _maybe it's her_.

"I'll get it." He hopped up and quickly grabbed the phone.

"Hello?" _Please be Anna, please be Anna._

"Hey Darry, it's Two-bit." _Damn it!_

"What is it?"

He heard soft voices in the background, "Um, you don't happen to know anyone by the name of Anna Thomas do you?"

He nearly dropped the phone, "What? How do you know her?"

"Well, I took Kathy up to the Good Nite motel for her birthday and you we were getting ready to-."

"Please spare me the details Two-bit, how do you know Anna?"

By now Ponyboy had joined Darry by the phone and gave him a quizzical look.

"Well, I was coming out of the bathroom when I heard screaming in the parking lot. So I ran outside and she was there in the parking lot over by the dumpsters with some guy on top of her."

Darry felt his blood run cold, _God no, please no_. "Is she alright?"

"What happened?" Ponyboy whispered.

"Yeah, I guess. She pretty banged up though. I asked her if I could call anyone for her and she gave your number. Why'd she give me your number?"

"She's a friend. Did you call the police?"

"No, I-."

"Well why the hell not!" He shouted into the phone, Ponyboy took a step back.

"She asked me not to okay! I'm not even sure if she knew who the guy was or not!"

"Are you still at the motel?"

"Yeah, room 8A."

"I'll be there in 10 minutes." Darry slammed the phone into the receiver and grabbed his jacket off the back of his chair.

"What's going on?" Ponyboy asked.

"Something happened to Anna. Two-bit found her and she asked him to call me." Darry grabbed his boots and put them on.

"Can I come?"

"No, you have homework. I'll be home soon. Do the dishes okay?"

"Fine." He huffed, but Darry was already out the door and had tearing down the driveway.

He made it to the motel in 6 minutes. He parked, threw the keys onto the passenger seat and ran up to room number 8A and knocked on the door.

"Whooooo iiiiiis iiiiiit?" He heard someone ask in a sing song voice.

"Keith Matthews, open the door right now!"

The door swung open and Two-bit stared at him with a face of frustration, "Well, hello to you to. To be honest, I don't know why I even try?"

"Where is she?"

Two-bit stepped aside so Darry could come in. What he saw almost broke his heart. Anna lay on one of the mattresses, asleep with a blanket pulled over her frame. She had a cut across her temple and a bruise on her fair skinned cheek.

"She was awake a few minutes ago. Poor thing was so worked up." Kathy said, pulling a cigarette out of a pack before lighting it.

Darry walked over to the edge of the bed where she was and knelt next to her, "Anna? Hey Anna?" He reached out and gently moved a piece of hair from her face. She looked so peaceful and he hated to wake her.

Her deep brown eyes fluttered open and she blinked, "Darry?"

"Hey."

"Hi. What are you doing here?"

He stopped a second and looked at Two-bit who shrugged, "You told my friend here to call me."

A frown broke across her face, "I did?"

He nodded.

Suddenly, she paled and looked around the room, "Oh. Oh God!" She sat straight up in bed and grabbed her head, "Oh, God!" She began to sniffle.

"Hey, you're okay. You're safe." Darry sat on the edge of the bed and grabbed a handful of tissues.

She snatched them from him and wept softly.

Darry looked at Two-bit and Kathy desperately. Two-bit held up his hands and Kathy tried to hand Anna a cigarette.

"No thank you. I don't smoke." Came Anna's reply.

"Anna do you have anywhere to go?" Darry asked taking the wet tissues from her.

She shook her head, wiping her eyes.

"Why don't you stay with me till you get things sorted out." He offered.

She snapped up her head, "Oh, no. I couldn't put you out."

"Anna, you wouldn't put me out. Besides, maybe then you can get some rest and contact the police."

But she fervently shook her head, "No police. None. Okay?"

He put up his hands in defeat, "Alright. No police. Just stay with us for a few days until you can find somewhere else to stay."

She sat quietly for a few minutes, appearing to contemplate what he was saying before looking up at him, "Okay."

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Hmmmmmmm...What will happen next?

So, I curious, what do you the readers think that her grandmother left her in her will? And why do you guys think that Anna doesn't want the police involved?


	3. Chapter 3

Hey guys! How do you like it so far? Please review, I really value your opinions! :)

xxxxxxxxxxx

Anna POV

She stopped at a little motel called "Good Nite" and put away her suit case before she left again and headed for St. Andrews Funeral Home. It was a small brick building that looked like it must have once been a house. It was in a nice part of town, just outside the downtown. She rang the doorbell and waited.

A little old man with white hair answered the door, "Hello?"

Anna stuck out her hand, "Hi, I'm Anna Thomas. I'm here about my grandmother, Sarah Parker?"

"Oh, yes. Please, do come in." He opened the door wider, allowing her to step through.

She wrinkled her nose, it smelled strongly of formaldehyde and cigarette smoke.

"This way. We have her in the first viewing room." He pointed to a room at the end of the hall.

She went inside and saw the casket on the other side of the room. She walked over and stood at the edge of it. She almost felt like crying, her grandmother was a beautiful woman. Anna wished she had met her.

"This is Eugene Bourke." She turned around suddenly to see the elderly gentleman gesturing to a short, balding man probably in his mid-forties.

"Oh, hello." She reached out and shook his hand, it was clammy.

"Hello Ms. Thomas. I'm so terribly sorry for your loss. Were you close?"

"Um, no," she blinked a little taken a back, "No, we had never met."

He turned his head to the side, "Oh, how unfortunate."

"Yes it was."

"Well, there are somethings concerning the will and finances that I would like to talk to you about." He took an uncomfortable step closer to her.

Anna frowned, "My lawyer in New York already discussed the will with me."

"There are somethings that we do need to…smooth over," His eyes roamed her, she pulled her jacket closer around her.

"Well, I'm staying at the "Good Nite Motel." We can talk about it over at the diner there. Is that fine by you?" She asked stiffening her spine.

"Yes, that sounds perfect."

"Fine then." She turned her back to him and her attention to the old man, "When will the viewing be?"

"Tuesday night and all day Wednesday. We have the eulogy scheduled for Wednesday night and the Funeral is scheduled for Thursday. We have notified to community and there should be a fair turn out from her church and Reverend Patrick said that he would speak during the eulogy."

Anna nodded, "Thank you. I'll be back Tuesday afternoon."

"Alright Ms. Thomas. Have a nice rest of the day."

She frowned a little, "Same to you."

He showed her to the door and bid her goodbye. She noticed the sun was setting over the houses and she checked her watch, about 5:30pm. She crossed the street and began making her way back to the motel.

Many of the stores that she passed were closing for the night, it being a Sunday and all, she was surprised that some of them were even open. When she got back to her room, she took off her jacket, dress, and shoes so she could go take a shower.

The water was taking a long time to heat up so she stood on the tile in the bathroom and caught a glance of herself in the mirror. She turned and sighed. She had put on a little weight recently, something like 10lbs. Maybe it was the stress from work or the fact she had been eating really cheap TV dinners lately. She felt like she had put it all on in her face though, _ugh_.

She was surprised that guy Darry had even agreed to have dinner with her. A smile broke across her face. He was an incredible guy, he cared about his family, had a steady job. And those eyes, icy steel blue. But there was something hidden behind them and she was curious. The shower was finally hot enough and she hopped in. The water soothed her tired muscles, but she shivered in spite of herself. She couldn't stop thinking about him. He seemed so serious and he looked maybe 26, 27 years old, but he had to be younger than that. She sighed, responsibilities change people.

She finished her shower and changed into a tan pair of pants and a blue, paisley button down shirt. She checked her watch and noticed it was 6:30. She slipped on her shoes and grabbed her purse, she needed to meet with Mr. Bourke about some arraignments. She was about to leave when a nock sounded at her door. She frowned and looked through the peep hole, it was Eugene Bourke himself.

"Hello, Mrs. Thomas." He shook her hand with his clammy one.

"Mr. Bourke."

He looked behind her at her room, "Would you mind if I came in for a minute?"

Anna crossed her arms, "I would rather you didn't. I was just headed out to the diner. We can talk there."

"Sounds fine to me."

She grabbed her purse and locked the door behind her as she was leaving.

He followed her though the parking lot, but when they were making their way past the dumpsters towards to diner, he grabbed her with surprising force and pulled her to the ground. She hit the side of her head on the asphalt and he then threw his body weight on her.

She let out a scream as he did so.

"Get off me!" She cried.

He smirked at her and tried to kiss her forcefully. She bit down on his lip, hard, drawing blood and a shout from him.

"Why you-!" He smacked her and tried to pull at her shirt buttons.

_Oh, God, I'm going to die!_ She thought to herself, she struggled against him pushing at his arms and kicked her legs wildly.

"Stop!" He kneed her in her side, causing her to cry out.

A light from one of the other rooms came on and a door opened, "Hey!" A man's voice shouted.

"Help me!" She screamed.

He hit her once more for good measure then jumped up and ran off into the dark.

She lay their dazed on the ground, weeping. Footsteps quickly approached and a figure knelt down beside her.

"You okay?" a man asked. He took her hand to help her sit up.

"No, *hiccup*" Anna cried. He helped her stand up on shaky feet.

A blond woman in a tight nightgown ran up, "Oh, dear, are you alright?"

Anna could only shake her head.

"Can we call anyone for you?" the man asked her.

_I don't have anyone. Well, maybe… _She pointed at her purse and gasped out between tears, "Please,*hiccup*, my purse, *hiccup*." The blond woman went and grabbed it, handing it to her.

Anna opened it and pulled her phone book out with shaking hands. She opened the book and pointed to a name.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Darry's POV

He sat at the table and looked at the clock. It was 7 now and she still hadn't called. _Maybe she's changed her mind_. He sighed and picked at the food on the table.

Ponyboy frowned at Darry, "Are you alright? You haven't eaten anything."

He looked up, "I'm fine. Just not hungry."

Ponyboy looked down at the table and picked at the corner of it where the paint was chipping, "Dar, I'm upset about Soda being gone to you know."

He looked at his kid brother, "Yeah, I know."

Darry was about to add something else when the phone rang, _maybe it's her_.

"I'll get it." He hopped up and quickly grabbed the phone.

"Hello?" _Please be Anna, please be Anna._

"Hey Darry, it's Two-bit." _Damn it!_

"What is it?"

He heard soft voices in the background, "Um, you don't happen to know anyone by the name of Anna Thomas do you?"

He nearly dropped the phone, "What? How do you know her?"

"Well, I took Kathy up to the Good Nite motel for her birthday and you we were getting ready to-."

"Please spare me the details Two-bit, how do you know Anna?"

By now Ponyboy had joined Darry by the phone and gave him a quizzical look.

"Well, I was coming out of the bathroom when I heard screaming in the parking lot. So I ran outside and she was there in the parking lot over by the dumpsters with some guy on top of her."

Darry felt his blood run cold, _God no, please no_. "Is she alright?"

"What happened?" Ponyboy whispered.

"Yeah, I guess. She pretty banged up though. I asked her if I could call anyone for her and she gave your number. Why'd she give me your number?"

"She's a friend. Did you call the police?"

"No, I-."

"Well why the hell not!" He shouted into the phone, Ponyboy took a step back.

"She asked me not to okay! I'm not even sure if she knew who the guy was or not!"

"Are you still at the motel?"

"Yeah, room 8A."

"I'll be there in 10 minutes." Darry slammed the phone into the receiver and grabbed his jacket off the back of his chair.

"What's going on?" Ponyboy asked.

"Something happened to Anna. Two-bit found her and she asked him to call me." Darry grabbed his boots and put them on.

"Can I come?"

"No, you have homework. I'll be home soon. Do the dishes okay?"

"Fine." He huffed, but Darry was already out the door and had tearing down the driveway.

He made it to the motel in 6 minutes. He parked, threw the keys onto the passenger seat and ran up to room number 8A and knocked on the door.

"Whooooo iiiiiis iiiiiit?" He heard someone ask in a sing song voice.

"Keith Matthews, open the door right now!"

The door swung open and Two-bit stared at him with a face of frustration, "Well, hello to you to. To be honest, I don't know why I even try?"

"Where is she?"

Two-bit stepped aside so Darry could come in. What he saw almost broke his heart. Anna lay on one of the mattresses, asleep with a blanket pulled over her frame. She had a cut across her temple and a bruise on her fair skinned cheek.

"She was awake a few minutes ago. Poor thing was so worked up." Kathy said, pulling a cigarette out of a pack before lighting it.

Darry walked over to the edge of the bed where she was and knelt next to her, "Anna? Hey Anna?" He reached out and gently moved a piece of hair from her face. She looked so peaceful and he hated to wake her.

Her deep brown eyes fluttered open and she blinked, "Darry?"

"Hey."

"Hi. What are you doing here?"

He stopped a second and looked at Two-bit who shrugged, "You told my friend here to call me."

A frown broke across her face, "I did?"

He nodded.

Suddenly, she paled and looked around the room, "Oh. Oh God!" She sat straight up in bed and grabbed her head, "Oh, God!" She began to sniffle.

"Hey, you're okay. You're safe." Darry sat on the edge of the bed and grabbed a handful of tissues.

She snatched them from him and wept softly.

Darry looked at Two-bit and Kathy desperately. Two-bit held up his hands and Kathy tried to hand Anna a cigarette.

"No thank you. I don't smoke." Came Anna's reply.

"Anna do you have anywhere to go?" Darry asked taking the wet tissues from her.

She shook her head, wiping her eyes.

"Why don't you stay with me till you get things sorted out." He offered.

She snapped up her head, "Oh, no. I couldn't put you out."

"Anna, you wouldn't put me out. Besides, maybe then you can get some rest and contact the police."

But she fervently shook her head, "No police. None. Okay?"

He put up his hands in defeat, "Alright. No police. Just stay with us for a few days until you can find somewhere else to stay."

She sat quietly for a few minutes, appearing to contemplate what he was saying before looking up at him, "Okay."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Hmmmmmmm...What will happen next?

So, I curious, what do you the readers think that her grandmother left her in her will? And why do you guys think that Anna doesn't want the police involved?


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